Scottish Parliament

Written Answers

Tuesday 6 July 1999

Scottish Executive

Devolution

Dr Winnie Ewing (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to give an assurance that the Westminster Parliament will not legislate on devolved matters.

Donald Dewar: As I indicated in my statement on 9 June, legislation about devolved subjects in Scotland will normally be enacted by the Scottish Parliament. From time to time, however, it may be appropriate for an Act of the United Kingdom Parliament to include provisions about such matters. That is the case, for example, for the Food Standards Bill. I also indicated that both the Scottish Executive and the United Kingdom Government intend that, by convention, the United Kingdom Parliament will not legislate about devolved matters without the consent of the Scottish Parliament.

Housing

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide information on the status of New Housing Partnership bids rejected under the last round of awards.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The allocation of resources for New Housing Partnerships for the period 1999-2002 was announced in February 1999. Unsuccessful bids do not qualify for New Housing Partnership status.

Housing

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, after 1 July, it will provide information regarding the process for consideration of the bid lodged by Aberdeen City Council on behalf of the Tillydrone community for cash aid towards housing improvements under the New Housing Partnership initiative.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The allocation of resources for New Housing Partnerships for the period 1999-2002 was announced in February 1999. Aberdeen City Council’s bid for the regeneration of the Tillydrone Estate was unsuccessful. There are no plans to invite further bids at present.

Housing

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what financial and administrative criteria it intends to use in assessing the viability of proposals submitted by local authorities under the New Housing Partnership initiative.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The criteria used to assess proposals submitted by local authorities under the New Housing Partnerships initiative were set out in the Scottish Office Development Department letter of 24 August 1998. A reference copy has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

Housing

Paul Martin (Glasgow Springburn) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it plans to take to tackle damp housing in Scotland and in particular in Glasgow Springburn.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The Healthy Homes Initiative aims to tackle damp housing in Scotland. In particular, we have introduced the new Warm Deal from 1 July, under which low income households will benefit from a £500 grant for a package of works to improve home energy efficiency which in turn will reduce condensation damp. The £12 million budget will ensure that each year 24,000 households, in Springburn and across Scotland, will have lower fuel bills or more warmth at the same cost.

Justice

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to review the practice in relation to advising the victim of a reported crime of the reasons no proceedings are taken, when that is the decision of the Crown.

Lord Hardie: Practice and policy in relation to the disclosure and discussion of reasons by the Crown for not proceeding against an accused is a matter for the Lord Advocate. In general terms, the Crown's reasons for not proceeding are confidential and will not be divulged to any third party. There may, however, be limited circumstances where a form of restricted disclosure to certain persons is acceptable or necessary because of the circumstances of the particular case or due to the nature of the offence. In light of the incorporation into domestic law of the European Convention on Human Rights by the Scotland Act 1998, this policy has been reviewed and is to remain unchanged.

Justice

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to review the charging and sentencing policy on drinking and driving.

Mr Jim Wallace: Legislation on drinking and driving is reserved to Westminster under the Scotland Act 1998. There has been a United Kingdom review of drinking and driving and the results will be published alongside a road safety strategy in the autumn.

  Charging is a matter for the police and for the Procurator Fiscal, who reports to the Lord Advocate. Sentencing a matter for the judiciary, who are independent.

Justice

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to make available information relating to the number of fixed penalties issued in respect of speeding offences in each of the last three years and to detail the local authority areas in which they were issued, the revenue received and the administrative costs incurred.

Mr Jim Wallace: We will provide such information in our annual statistical bulletin entitled Motor Vehicle Offences in Scotland . The data on penalties will be disaggregated geographically by police force area and by particular offences such as speeding. The data on revenue will also be disaggregated geographically, but not by particular offence. The associated administrative costs are not available.

Justice

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to increase the monetary limit of £750 applying to small claims actions in Scotland.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Lord Advocate last year issued a Consultation Paper in relation to the jurisdiction limits in summary cause and small claim actions in the sheriff court.

  As a result of the consultation exercise I am currently considering advice proposing variations to the jurisdiction limits in these actions.

  An announcement will be made in due course.

Justice

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to grant the Scottish Legal Aid Board competence to make interest payments on overdue accounts under the Scottish Legal Aid schemes and whether it intends to authorise ex gratia payments where legal aid or advice and assistance accounts are not settled within 30 days.

Mr Jim Wallace: I do not intend to require the Board to pay interest on accounts or to make ex-gratia payments. The Board is making good progress in dealing with outstanding cases and there is no need for such arrangements which would add to complexity and delay.

Local Government

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether or not it intends to introduce any system of proportional representation voting for local government elections in Scotland.

Ms Wendy Alexander: As I announced on 2 July, this is to be considered as part of a wider package of measures to revitalise local government. A cross-party working group will be established to look at electoral systems for local government, widening the range of citizens interested in becoming councillors, the appropriate number of members for each council and to consider councillor remuneration.

Poverty

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to extend the list of communities it will visit in its fact finding mission on poverty and deprivation, as announced by Ms Wendy Alexander in Scottish Office press release 1094/99.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Our fact-finding mission will not be restricted to those areas listed in Press Release 1094/99. We recognise that poverty and deprivation exist across Scotland, and we will tackle them wherever they occur.

Transport

Mrs Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to consider re-classifying the A801 as a trunk road, given its strategic importance to the economy of West Lothian, the Falkirk area, and the Central Belt of Scotland as a whole.

Sarah Boyack: There are currently no plans to extend the trunk road network. The severe pressures on the trunk road budget would mean, in any event, that trunking would be an empty gesture.

Travelling People

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what policy it intends to operate towards providing official sites for travelling people in Edinburgh and other parts of Scotland, whether it intends to provide grant assistance to establish such sites, and whether it intends to provide information as to the approximate number of unofficial sites in Scotland used by travelling people.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Since 1971, the Scottish Office has made grants available to enable local authorities to provide official sites for Travelling People. Councils, including Edinburgh, were advised early in 1997 that the grant scheme was being wound up, having been successful in providing over 30 local authority sites throughout Scotland. Councils had until the end of 1998 to apply for grant. Information on the number of privately owned and unauthorised sites is available from a twice-yearly count. Reference copies of "Travelling People in Scotland: Report on Seasonal Count", July 1998 and January 1999 have been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.